Wednesday, February 18th, N.E. 807, 10:18

Madam Tilly’s House of Heavenly Delights, 5th Circle, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

Martin Steam-burst Fredirin

Most commoners limit themselves to one avenue of study; hunting, tailoring, fishing, smithing, farming, soldiering, exploring, and so on. Even within those broad fields, most commoners further specialize in one area, some farmers grow one type of crop, some smiths focus on tools while others on weapons, some warriors focus on the bow, while others the spear.

This is because commoners lack the strength of character, the intelligence, and the wisdom, to even try to master more than one thing. Not so for the nobility. Nobles, by right of our birth, are simply inherently better in every way when compared to the ignorant masses.

Even when it comes to magic, most commoners, and even lesser nobility, limit themselves to the basic elements. But for the higher ranking nobility, such as myself, elemental magic is seen as crass and crude. If one is going to pursue magic, and any self-respecting noble will, then one should at the very least, pursue the mysteries of arcane magic.

Arcane magic brings order to the chaotic nature of the world, it isn’t powered by emotions, but by reason and thought; therefore, only those with a clear and powerful mind can truly master it.

However, while I pursue the mysteries of the arcane, and I respect those who follow the same path, I also acknowledge another path that some of the upper nobility tread. Some, using their vast fortunes and connections, delve into even more esoteric paths of magic, and while these paths lack the purity of arcane magic, I can still respect the dedication required to master them.

Most of the time.

If there was one person whose magic I couldn’t respect, it was the girl in front of me right now.

Victoria Goldfield, the thirteenth child of Duke Zachary Goldfield, and one of my many cousins.

“So… Cousin Martin… what has my big, strong, handsome, cousin come here today for?” She practically purred as she spoke those words.

“How would I know? You are the one who sent me a letter asking for my presence.” I spit out, a bit more harshly than I wanted.

Normally, since I had graduated from the Royal Academy two years ago when I was fifteen, I spent my time traveling to the domains of the other ducal houses to act as an ambassador on behalf of my father, Duke Jason Steam-burst. My work rarely brought me to the Royal Capital Arvas, but when it did, I would find myself swamped with work.

Two days ago I had received a letter from my cousin asking for a meeting, and it was only today that I had an opening in my schedule and could meet with her.

“Ara? That is right, I did call for you, didn’t I? Still, how cute, my older cousin dropped everything and came running once I called for him.”

“You… Hah, right, this is how you are. Well, what is it that you wanted?”

“My dear cousin, maybe I just wanted to see you? But, I see that the feeling is not mutual, after all, my dearest cousin hasn’t looked at me once.”

That wasn’t technically true, I had glanced at her when I first walked into the room, but once I saw what she was wearing I had pointedly directed my vision away from her.

“And why do you think that is? What are you wearing anyway? And why are you still in the bed? At least appear presentable.”

“This?” she asked as I heard her shift on the bed, but I still locked my vision onto the incense holder on the shelves. “Count Leopold gave it to me”

“The Count of Bestera? … The rumors about him though, I thought he was...?” I couldn't help myself and asked.

“Impotent?” Victoria answered with a chuckle. “That rumor is true, I am sorry to say. He is like a loaf of bread left in a bowl of soup too long, limp and soft.”

“...I did not really… hah...Then why was he...?”

“Here? In my little slice of paradise? Here in Madam Tilly’s House of Heavenly Delights?” she asked theatrically.

“...” I stayed silent because while I was interested, I didn’t really want to have this conversation.

My cousin was 3 years younger than I, but was an accomplished, if disgraceful, mage. What exactly her magic was, I didn’t know, but it had allowed her to open this business two years ago, Madam Tilly’s House of Heavenly Delights, the Royal Capital’s most luxurious and successful brothel. Madam Tilly was an alias used by Victoria, so every aspect of this sprawling compound was controlled by the young girl sprawled out on the bed wearing little more than strings.

“You are no fun, such a stick in the mud.” She sighed. “Well, consider it a freebie then, Count Leopold is a regular here, but he doesn’t come for himself. I entertain his wife, Countess Henriette.”

“His wife!?” I almost shouted out of shock.

“Hmm… Yes, the Countess is an active woman, but since the Count cannot fulfill his role, he had to look elsewhere. Further, the Count already has four children, he needs no more, especially a bastard child, so he found some women to… help his wife.”

“That… That is absurd.”

“Haha.” She laughed. “Does my cousin find it that strange? Maybe you need this place’s services more than I thought? Well, you might be surprised to know that about a third of our clients are women. Of course, many of them are here to find male companions, and many of them are here for… group activities, but still, a fair bit of them prefer the more gentle touch of a fellow woman.”

“Yes, well, let us never speak of this again,” I said, as calmly as I could.

“How cute, your face is red.”

“You..!” I snapped and stood up.

“Okay, okay, calm down my dear cousin. I won't tease you anymore.”

“You best tell me what you called me to this… den of perversions for, otherwise I will leave.”

“My dear father has bailed out Baron Stephan Korst after he went into debt from a failed investment.”

“Baron Korst? I don’t recognize him. And what was his investment?”

“Wine, his barony grows a type of grape known for being very sweet, I have a few bottles if you want one. But, let us see, what happened? Right, he decided to increase production and make a business out of it. In the past, his people just collected the wild grapes and made wine, but now he wanted to try and properly cultivate the grapes.”

“And?” I asked.

“He failed, of course. As it turned out, what made the grapes sweet, was not just the soil, but the adjacent plants where they grew, and those plants take most of the nutrients from the earth, it was simply impossible for him to produce more without converting massive stretches of land into vineyards. So his investment fell through, and he found himself heavily in debt.”

“And then your father, the Duke of Goldfield, paid off his debts? Why?”

“Who knows? Sometimes, I do not even know if my Father himself really knows why he does things. However, I have a guess.”

“And that guess is?”

“The Korst Barony is known for two things, its wine, and also the fact that just recently, the road that cut across it has seen heightened traffic, large wagons filled with a black tar-like substance travel from the Quarry Dukedom all the way to the Steam-burst Dukedom.”

“...”

“Now, while I don’t know what exactly these wagons are used for, I understand they are valuable to Duke Steam-burst, your esteemed father. I also understand, that my, not so esteemed father, had a, let us say, strong dislike, of his siblings. Now, since prior to this, the Baron of Korst had no interaction with my father, I suspect he might have some ulterior motives outside of pure altruism.”

“... Damnit.”

“Indeed.”

“Do you know what he is going to do?” I asked.

“Not at all, but I would guess, he could either delay your caravans or charge a tariff. Of course, he already charges a tariff, so he would need an excuse to raise it, something like the fact that your wagons are damaging the road and increasing the upkeep costs.”

“Haah… This will be an issue, but not a big one.”

“Well, that is if he only raises the tariff.”

“He’d delay them? How, inspections?”

“So uptight my cousin.” She said with a sigh. “No, inspections won't cut it, even a tariff won't cut it, if he charges too much, it will be obvious something is going on, and if he doesn’t charge an absurd amount, it won't really be that big of an issue as you said. Instead, what I suspect he’ll do, is allow his roads to fall into disrepair.”

“That… would he really do that?”

“I do not see why he wouldn’t. The Baron has already shown a lack of foresight, since he invested heavily in an unverified business plan, even going so far as to take loans out for it. And now he is firmly under my father’s thumb, and I can assure you, Father does not care one bit about the Baron or his lands. I had a look at the maps, and that road skirts the edges of the mountains, so come spring, when the snow begins to melt, there will be many blockages. Normally, the Baron’s people would clear them and maintain the road… but now…”

“Damnit, I need to let my father know this as soon as possible,” I said as I stood to leave.

“Forgetting something?” However, before I left, the words from behind stopped me.

“Right, what do you want?”

“Ara? Playing coy? With me?”

“Fine, how much?” I asked.

“”Well..” Her voice purred, but not from the bed, instead, she was right behind me. “Should not a negotiation like this be face to face?”

“Grr… Fine.” I said as I turned to face her.

My cousin was only a foot away from me, far too close. I was tall for my age, as was she, but since she was both younger, and a woman, her head only came up to my chest, forcing me to look down on her. From the edges of my vision, I could see her flawless white skin of her neck, along with the thin, light blue fabric that was barely covering her.

If I looked further down, I knew that whatever it was she was wearing, would do nothing to impede my sight, so instead, I locked my eyes on hers, two shimmering red orbs that seemed to draw in my soul.

“Five percent,” She stated clearly, not breaking the link between our eyes.

“Five? Absolutely not. One, two at best.” I countered.

“My cousin is jesting with me it seems. What would happen if things had played out naturally?” She said, her eyes sparkling.

“True, the information you have given me is valuable, but only to me and my family. It had no value to you.”

“So?”

“Even if I desperately need it, a seed is simply a seed, a merchant that raises the price might make a profit, but they will at best be second class, no, third class. This costs you nothing, so five is out of the question.”

“Fine, four percent.”

“No, even if this were a normal situation, four percent is still too high. If you hadn’t shared this information with me, it would have at best been a minor inconvenience for my family. One percent.” I stated plainly.

“How short-sighted of you, my dear cousin. You forget, if you were forced to react after the fact, then my Father, and our other uncles and aunts would be able to glean quite a bit about how important those caravans are to you. Currently, no one really knows what they are for, think of how much information could end up leaking.”

“Grr…” She had a point.

“See? You know I am right. Four percent sounds better now, does it not?”

“Well then,” I used my last card. “You are right about that, but do not forget, you gain from this too, a black eye for Duke Goldfield is exactly what you want. Do not pretend that this was all for my family’s benefit.”

“Three percent.”

“Two”

“...”

“...”

“Two and a half.”

“...Fine, two and a half it is.”

“Excellent.” She finally broke eye contact with me and turned and sashayed back to her bed. “That means I am now twenty-seven and three-quarters of the way towards having my way with you.”

“Hmmph,” I grunted and turned to leave.

“Goodbye my upstanding knight of a cousin, I can’t wait to have you all to myself in this bed.”

“Harlot.” I spit out through clenched teeth as I left her room.

Wednesday, February 18th, N.E. 807, 12:44

Prancing Pony Inn, 6th Circle, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

Lenis Redstone.

“Mmmm, it is probably fine…” I said to myself as I straightened the collar of my overcoat.

Like my father before me, and like his father before him, I had trained and studied to assist the one who would be my lord. Commoners would refer to me as a butler, and while that was technically a correct term, what I did was so much more than one people would assume. In fact, many of the duties that the uninformed would think I do, I do not in fact do.

Or, well, I should say, that is how it is supposed to be. In truth, many of those things that people would think I do, I don’t, but I also don’t perform many tasks that I should be doing either.

My master is Gwyneth Canyon Fredirin, a lady of the Canyon House. When she was a child, she was a tomboy, when she grew into a young girl, she was still a tomboy, and when she became a young adult, and then a proper adult, she remained, a tomboy.

Instead of being an upstanding lady, spending her time on the arts, or her studies, or socializing with her friends, she spends her time running around, killing monsters, and challenging people to duels.

The reason why I can’t get my coat to fit correctly is that, underneath it, I wore a suit of chainmail.

“My Lady, may I enter?” I said, having given up on straightening my coat any further.

I waited for ten seconds and then tried again.

“My Lady, it is Lenis, may I enter?” I asked again, this time knocking on the door.

“Come in.” Was the muffled response I got through the door.

I couldn’t help but be annoyed, if we were in the Canyon Estate, where we should be right now, the soundproofing on the door would have prevented me from hearing a response. Instead, we were in some random, low-class inn.

“I am entering,” I said and opened the door.

This inn had twelve rooms, four single rooms, four double rooms, two single rooms that were a bit larger and nicer, one single room that was the best the inn had to offer, and one common room with twenty beds in it.

My Lady had taken the best room, I was in one of the nicer singles, and we also booked two of the double rooms for our guards.

Still, the room that was described as the best the inn had to offer, was, if I were to be generous, shabby, and if I weren’t, was a dump. Dirty wooden floors with only a single fur rug that looked filthy thrown down, a rickety bed, some scuffed and almost rotting shelves and tables, the curtains were faded and patched, and the hearth was caked with ash and soot.

And for some reason, My Lady was enamored with this inn, it was her favorite and we stayed here rather often.

“What is it Pops?” My lady asked.

Gwyneth Canyon Frederin had turned sixteen last summer, but she looked older than that. She was taller than average, and while she usually kept a casual and playful atmosphere around her, the things she had done, the people she met, had altered her temperament, no one I had ever met was quite the same as my Lady. Outside of her atmosphere, the fact that she had an athletic build, and the fact that she had weather her fair share of experiences, she looked as if she was in her late twenties. A single scar that barely peeked through her hair only added to the effect.

Right now, My Lady was wearing a pair of long shorts, two mismatched socks, and a simple undershirt while she sat upon her bed performing maintenance on her sword, an elegantly curved scimitar.

“My Lady, you should talk a bit more-”

“Yeah yeah, I know, you’d think you’d get tired of that by now.”

“It is important”

“So you say, but I always ignore it. You know, they say insanity is doing the same thing, but expecting a different result.”

“Hah…” I could feel a headache coming already.

“You know pops, if you keep rubbing your head like that, you’ll end up going bald in that spot. And I can’t have an assistant missing a patch of hair.” My Lady said without looking away from her sword.

“Yes, well…” I struggled to calm myself down. “Putting that aside, Poe left earlier to go pick your jitte up from the blacksmith. I do not expect any problems, so he should be back soon.”

“Oh, good.” She said sounding happy, “I’ve been feeling stiff lately, I'm looking forward to having my first match in a while.”

“First of all My Lady, it has been only one week since your last match-”

“Too long”

“-And, you could have gone back to using your dagger.”

“Eh… Well…” She stopped polishing the sword and put it down on the end table before drawing her dagger and holding it up in the light. “Ash Fang is a nice blade, but I can’t use it fully, and the jitte is better anyway.”

My Lady had developed her own personalized combat system, in one hand she wielded her scimitar, a weapon used by the desert people of the south, and in the other, she originally used her dagger.

Due to the heat of the desert, heavy armor was rarely used, so more nimble weapons were developed and used, the speed of the strike was more important than the power of the strike. Of course, My Lady’s scimitar, Dry Wind, was made out of a mithril and steel alloy, giving it a bit more weight, but also make it a lot more durable, and it held its edge well, so while she did rely on nimble movements and quick, pinpoint strikes, she could still cut through most armors, and those she couldn’t, she could smash through without damaging the sword.

And Ash Fang was her dagger, it was literally made out of one of the fangs from a monster called an Ash-Eater, a type of wyrm. The fang was sharp, almost unbreakable, and it corroded metal and most living and formerly living materials. Despite the fact that it didn’t leave clean cuts, it was a useful weapon for breaking through armor and weapons.

But, Ash Fang was designed for someone who could use Earth Magic, and My Lady had almost no talent with that element. And while the tip was sharp, the edge was rather dull, Ash Fang should be used for stabbing, but My Lady’s style had her using the dagger mostly for defense, and only occasionally making a quick slash if there was an opening.

“Maybe if it was balanced better for throwing?” She added, still looking at the dagger.

I had to agree with that however, Ash Fang was oddly shaped, resembling more of a curved cone than a normal dagger. Even a dagger that wasn’t weighted correctly could still be thrown with decent accuracy, and some damage could be expected from a clean hit even at twenty feet away. Ash Fang, however, could only accurately be thrown less than ten feet away, and even then, having the point land on target was extremely difficult. The thrown weapon could be guided using magic, and in fact, My Lady was skilled at using wind magic which would allow for that, but in almost all cases, it would be better to just attack with magic instead.

Also, there is something to be said for not throwing an incredibly expensive magic weapon at someone.

“Well, it isn’t as if I'll get rid of it or anything,” She said as she put it away in its sheath. “I can use it as a backup or something, and it is still a good card to keep on hand, but that Jitte just works better.”

A little over a month ago, a caravan had entered the capital. It was a normal trade caravan, but it had come from an area even further south than the deserts. A lot of exotic items were brought along, many weapons and armors were included too, and one of which was the jitte my lady bought.

It was a bit longer than a dagger, but not quite long enough to be considered a short sword. The handle had a guard, but it was only on one side, and instead of covering the user’s hand, it pointed upward in the same direction as the blade. But most interesting of all, it didn’t have a proper blade at all, the weapon was basically just a pointed rod. It wasn’t rounded, but was shaped into a form with eight sides. It did get thinner towards the end where it came to a sharp point, but there was no cutting edge at all, and in a way, it was a lot like Ash Fang.

However, while Ash Fang couldn’t really cut with its edge unless a large amount of force was used to saw through something, the jitte could be used almost like a light mace, powerful blows could rain down with it, and it still had the swiftness of a dagger. Even the odd hilt itself was actually used to catch the enemy’s weapon and then disarm them.

And because there was no cutting edge in the first place, there was no need to fear it getting dull, nor would it break. It was a perfect match for My Lady’s style of using the scimitar to attack and the sidearm to defend and harass with.

“I was pissed when the handle broke though.” She mentioned. “I like the jitte, but that one was just a basic, everyday weapon, I need to get a better one.”

“Unfortunately, the trader didn’t know how to forge them, and no one knows how to make it that durable, but also light. And the weight is perfect. They’d have to melt it down to find out, but then yours would be lost.”

“I know. How long until the blacksmith finishes the set of prototypes?” She asked.

“Hmm, probably a week or two, Mister Flat-Hand’s work is in high demand, but since he is skilled with weapons, he is the best bet. It would have been faster if you could have at least left your jitte with him for a while.”

“Not happening.”

“Of course.”

“Well, then after Poe returns, you should probably reacclimate yourself with the jitte, but we can probably schedule another duel for some time tomorrow.”

“Ehh… too long, let's do one tonight.”

“My Lady… even if that were a good idea, it will be difficult to find an…” I trailed off, the sound of feet running up the stairs was heard by both of us.

While my lady again drew both her sword and dagger, I slid towards the door, locking it as I leaned up against the wall nearby. My own weapon, a plain looking warhammer, was already in my hand.

We waited with our breath held for a few seconds until the footsteps stopped in front of our door.

“My Lady, it is Ned, I have important news.” a voice called out in tandem with some frantic knocking. “Ah! Right, password. Horse Shit.”

I frowned but opened the door since Poe has said the correct password. Why My Lady insisted on such crude passwords, I would never understand.

“What is it, Poe?” I asked.

“Jitte. Where is my Jitte?” My Lady asked.

“Right here.” Poe went over and presented the jitte wrapped in cloth to her.

“Poe, what was so important?” I asked again.

“Right, it’s bad news,” Poe said, a solemn expression taking over his face. “On the way back, The path was near the Wild Bear School, and I heard people saying that the school had been raided.”

“Huh? I said shocked.

“I know, “Poe said as he looked my way. “But a lot of people were talking about it, someone raided the school and caused a bunch of injuries.”

“Is that one of our schools? I think I heard the name before, who is the patron?” My Lady asked.

“You are My Lady, The Wild Bear, Raging Chimera, and Swift Wind Schools are all under your umbrella. The Wild Bear School is lead by Mister Wild Bear, he’s a barbarian from the north.” I said exasperatedly before turning to Poe and continuing with my questions. “Poe, did you learn anything else?”

“Yeah,” he nodded in the affirmative. “I figured I should check in to see if the rumors were true, and they were. Since I was just a guard, the school wouldn’t let me in, but I learned that Mister Wild Bear was out hunting and was still away, but his son, Little Wild Bear had been in during the raid. He wouldn’t meet me, so I don’t know what happened. But, while I was there, a messenger from the Raging Chimera school came by.”

“Eh? Why?” I interrupted confused.

“This is where it gets crazy,“ Poe said, getting excited. “The Raging Chimera School got raided also, and they had a bunch of injuries too. So they called for a healer, but the healer was too busy because as it turns out, the Stalwart Man School was also raided.”

“The Stalwart Man… That is owned by your cousin, Bartholomew Lakeside.” I stated.

“Hmm…”

“Well, so the thing was, the Raging Chimeras sent word to our family, but they also decided to send messengers to the other nearby schools.”

“Apparently, they were too late for the Wild Bears,” I said.

“Hey, Pops.” My Lady suddenly said.

“What?” I asked, but I was pretty sure I already knew.

“Let's go find them.”

“Eh…” I really, really, did not want to do this. But, I also knew I had no choice. “Alright, get ready, and I will have everyone mobilized in ten minutes.”

My Lady didn’t say anything, only turning and grabbing her armor. I quickly steered Poe out of the room, because I knew that the presence of two men would not stop her from getting changed right then.

“Our Lady is really motivated, we can’t let people raid our schools like this,” Poe said excitedly.

“Indeed, go get everyone ready.”

“Yes, Sir!” Poe saluted and then left.

“Haaah…” I sighed as Poe left.

Poe thought My Lady wanted to avenge the schools under us that got raided, but he didn’t really understand her. Sure, she was slighted by having this happen, and she was probably pretty angry, but she didn’t actually care for any of the members of those schools. And while she was annoyed, that played second fiddle to how excited she was about the prospects of fighting a strong opponent.

My Lady had a great track record in her duels, almost never having lost, and I just hoped that would stay true.

Wednesday, February 18th, N.E. 807, 15:10

Bartholomew’s personal villa, 4th Circle, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

#27

“My Lord, I bring you news,” I said as I descended the wide stairs into My Lord’s Basement.

My Lord was Bartholomew Lakeside Fredirin, the youngest son of Duke Henry Lakeside Fredirin, he wasn’t the youngest child, however, he had two younger sisters. My Lord was only fourteen, as such, he should have been in school right now, but due to his proficiency in the academic arts, he was able to avoid classes and only make an appearance during the testing periods.

“Oh, #27? It is good to see you, here, hand me that potion.” My Lord said.

“Yes My Lord.” I dutifully replied as I handed him a potion, the only potion that was on the table.

Bartholomew found other people to be, let us say, below his notice, not worthy enough of having him remember their names, so he used numbers to identify them. I was the twenty-seventh chamberlain that My Lord had hired, and the first one to last more than a week, hence, despite the fact I had stayed for over a year, he still only referred to me by number.

In some way, having my name replaced by a number should have upset me, but after all, I was a broken person. What should bother me, what should elate me, what should sadden me, what should anger me, my drives, were all different from normal people.

Just like my Lord.

“Well #27, what is the news?” My Lord asked.

“Before that My Lord, what are you doing?” I asked as I watched him work.

“An experiment.” Was the reply I got.

“I see that, but what exactly are you trying to discover?”

“Wooo. This was harder than I thought it would be,” He said as he grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat off of his forehead. “What were you asking again?”

“What it is that My Lord is doing.” I reminded him.

“Right. An experiment. See, a few weeks back, a caravan from the Far South arrived, and it had some books in it.”

“I do remember that My Lord, I was the one who bought the books from the traders.”

“You were? Good, good. Well, one of those books explained the society and culture of the empire down there.”

“Yes? And that has what to do with this experiment? I asked, not at all comprehending what My Lord was getting at.

“Our Fredirin Kingdom has a rather unique, but dare I say, effective method of running the government. Our neighbors are well behind us in regards to this, but, that book claimed that this Empire, The Crystal Jade Empire, was able to create a highly stable and efficient government in its own way.”

“And that way is?”

The Crystal Jade Empire believes that only by focusing, and shunning the worldly needs, can people be dedicated to their work and the Empire itself. Of course, they still have an aristocracy that holds a large amount of power, but all of the central government matters are controlled by what are essentially career bureaucrats.”

“That is interesting, but what does it have to do with your experiment?”

“These career bureaucrats live their lives wholly dependant on the state, they have no property or wealth themselves, but the Empire takes care of them. In turn, they devote themselves to the Empire.”

“That seems as if it will not show results. That book seems flawed.” I stated my opinion.

“It does, or it would if there wasn’t more to it. See, a man must always provide for his family, to ensure his bloodline continues. While I don’t care for this, I understand how others think.”

“Of course, that behavior baffles me too, but it is the prevailing opinion of the masses.”

“Indeed. In fact, I believe it is family ties that cause a great deal of corruption, even in our own Kingdom, but I digress. The Crystal Jade Empire does not allow these bureaucrats to have families, in fact, they also are forced into daily meditation sessions and also, if I am understanding this book right, something like indoctrination.”

“Fascinating. Still, the experiment?” I prompted again.

“Right, right. Well, even then, the Empire does not believe that would be sufficient, so all of the bureaucrats are also… what was the word? You-knocks, You-knick. It is in the book, hold on.” My Lord began searching through the book that was beside him.

“These, You-Knicks? I haven't heard that term before, what are they?” I asked, my curiosity piqued.

“Eunuch, that is it. Eunuch. Right, these Eunuchs are all men, who have been castrated. Like livestock, apparently without the need to reproduce, these men are seemingly calmer and more thoughtful. Without the stronger emotions, and without a family, they are more devoted to the nation.”

“I see, I wonder if that would work?”

“I don’t know, but I wanted to test it. However, I wasn’t sure if they were castrated while young, or after they became adults. It is normal for a child to follow in their parents' footsteps, but these men can not have children, so where did they get the eunuchs from? Did men volunteer for this job? Or were they raised from their youth?”

“So you tested it then?”

“Yes, I had my guards pull twenty men from the streets, and then I castrated them. However, I wasn’t sure how much to cut off, and so far six of them have died. Still, this latest one, he seems to be doing well.”

“Yes, he is conscious at least, a bit pale, however,” I said as I looked at the man chained to the table.

“Yes, originally I removed the entire reproductive tract, but I quickly realized that interfered with urination. Then I tried cutting just parts off, even crushing the different parts with a vice. However, for this man, and two before him, I made a small incision, and then reached in with pliers and removed them. Then I just sewed them up, and then used a standard healing potion.”

“I see, still, it will take some time to see if they really do become less emotional.”

“Yes, in fact, I am not sure I can accurately test that with this batch, I would have needed to study them in depth in a natural environment before I castrated them to really tell if there are differences. This is mostly just to see if they survive and as a proof of concept. Much later on, I might require all of my employees to be eunuchs.”

“I feel that that may be difficult to implement My Lord, we are already rather short staffed, and I do not think that this would help matters. Come to think of it, we are missing another maid, do you know if she ran away?”

“Hmm? A maid? Which one?” He asked.

“I think it was M-305” I replied.

“Ah, right, that one. Her arm came off, and she was making a fuss about it, so I locked her in her room.”

“I see, did you call for a healer?”

“Oh, you know what? I completely forgot about that, I wanted to get back to my experiments.”

“Hmm, so she’s dead?”

“Probably? I don’t think she could use healing magic.”

“Haah… We’ll need to find a replacement then. And I guess I'll need to dispose of the corpse.”

“I always trouble you #27. Moving on, what was the news you brought?”

“Yes, about that, I suspect someone has made a move against the Canyon Family, a large move.”

“Oh? And why is that?”

“Earlier I received word that several combat schools had been raided, it is a bit past noon now, but already more than ten have been hit. One of which you are the patron of My Lord.”

“Who cares.”

“Exactly. Regardless, as I said, several have been raided, and I am getting reports that still more are being attacked. Four belong to the Canyon Family, one from your Lakeview Family, three from the Goldfield Family, two from the Quarry Family, and two from the Steam-burst Family.”

“While the Canyon Family did suffer more attacks, it does seem as if they are spread out pretty fairly, what makes you think this is a targeted attack against them?”

“I thought as you did at first too, none of the schools are particularly important or noteworthy, and only two the Canyon schools and two of the Goldfield schools have the same patron, so it does seem random, and in fact, if I hadn’t heard this last piece of news, I would have overlooked it.”

“And that news is?”

“Michael Canyon Fredirin, your cousin, was assassinated in their estate last night.”

“Oh, really?” My Lord asked, for the first time showing genuine interest in this conversation.

“Yes, our spy in their estate here in the capital passed word, his body was discovered by a maid this morning. The Canyon Family locked down the estate to investigate and prevent word from spreading, but it also slowed their response towards the raids, the other families are already mobilizing people, but the Canyon Family has done nothing.”

“This is really interesting, I wonder who planned this?”

“Right now, there is no information on who the assassin was, or how it happened, and there is likewise only limited information on who raided the schools. Our Stalwart Man School has reported that the attack was a halfling wrapped fully in leather armor who talked oddly, but that tells us little.”

“A halfling warrior capable of raiding the schools… do we know of anyone like that?”

“No My Lord, unless there was some trickery involved that the Stalwart Man School didn’t notice, but they claim the halfling faced them head-on. They did have a lot of complaints, however.”

“This is a shame, we can’t even begin to guess who did this at this point, and if we make a wrong move, we could overextend easily. We’ll need to wait until more details emerge. However… Maybe we can make use of this?”

“Oh, how is that, My Lord?” I asked.

“We can guess at how the other families will respond to this, some will defend their interests, some will try to use the period to build up their own strength, and some will further attack the Canyon Family. We could easily determine how a single family will react with some simple observation, but if they were the ones to initiate this, then they’ll have extra, hidden plans. This makes it hard for us to move. But, there is one family whose plans we know.” He explained.

“Which family is that?”

“Our own.”

“Ah… I see, then, what orders should I give?” I asked.

“Let us see… My older brother Sebastian, he has those boat restaurants, they should sink. Also, reveal the fake account forms we have slipped into his trading company. Hmm… we should also spread the damage about a bit, so have a business or two belonging to one of my sisters get vandalized.”

“The since the two families that are contesting the Steam-burst’s dominance were both damaged, the assumption will be that it was either the Quarry Family, or the Goldfield Family, or maybe even the Pine Family.” I reasoned out.

“Exactly, if we don’t suffer, the most likely assumption would be that it was us after all. However, I think we can do better. Have the spy we planted in Sebastian’s house assassinate my brother. This will also remove a thorn from my side.”

“As you will it, My Lord.”

“Get to it #27, but now I need to finish my experiments, I have two more men to castrate, and this time, I want to try freezing the area before I cut.”

“Yes My Lord.”

Wednesday, February 18th, N.E. 807, 17:20

Bonto Lane, 7th Circle, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

?????????????

“So… Loud…” I groaned to myself as I threaded my way through the streets of the Royal Capital Arvas.

Everywhere around me was the hustle and bustle of the city, adventurers, soldiers, civilians, traders, craftsmen, merchants, guards, so many people.

Too many people.

“So… Loud…” I groaned again.

I hated the city, I hated people, but I couldn’t live elsewhere, and this mass of people, this faceless throng of anonymous men and women, was vastly preferable to only listening to a few people.

Still, every day, every hour, every minute, was pure torture.

A bit behind me, following me, were two of my guards. No matter where they went, how they hid, I could always track them, because instead of the boring and petty voices of everyone else, these two made a sound that was a mixture of glass shattering, stone being ground down, and wood snapping. A cacophony of sounds, only slightly better than the voices everyone else created.

They were both my guards and the chains that kept me locked down. They protected me, but they would also stop me if I tried to flee, not that I had any intention of doing so. Any other city would be just as bad as Arvas.

In fact, Arvas wasn’t completely awful, lost in this crowd, bustling with people, I could at least, almost, lose myself.

“Oh careful there, stupid children, little girl, brat, are you okay, I hope my clothes aren’t dirty.” The old man who I had bumped into said.

“....”

“Are you hurt, say something you dumb brat.”

“...sorry…” I whispered.

“It’s good that you are alright, now I am going to be late, you should be heading home, don’t stumble around in the road like an idiot, your parents are probably worried about you, probably a street urchin.”

“...Yeah…” I said and hurried away.

“I wonder if that was a pickpocket?”

“Scrawny child, probably poor.”

“Filthy kid.”

“I bet if I offered her a couple of coppers, I could buy her for the night.”

“Poor thing.”

“Jeez, who cares, get out of the way.”

“I need to meet Mat soon.”

“Wonder what the tavern has on sale today?”

“Did I drop of that parcel today or yesterday?”

“It’s late.”

“It’s gonna be cold tonight, I can feel it.”

“Oh, my hip, I wonder what I did to it.”

“...Stop… it…” I groaned in pain, my head throbbing.

Unable to stay here any longer, I started running. I had no destination, no goal, I just needed to be somewhere else.

I ran and ran, but my tiny body didn’t give me the speed that I needed. The voices faded, but new ones rose to take their place. My guards followed behind, the annoying sound never getting far away.

As I ran, the heaving of my own breath almost managed to drown out the voices. My exhaustion almost distracted me.

But, it didn’t.

I wound my way through the streets, the main thoroughfares turned to connecting streets, which turned into back streets, which then turned into dark and damp alleys.

“WOAH!” A voice called out.

I had run out of the alley and into a real road, right in front of a small wagon. The driver pulled on the reins of the horse, and it just barely managed to stop without hitting me.

Of course, I wasn’t in any real danger, one of my guards had swept forward and pulled me back, even if the carriage had made no effort to stop or turn, I would have been fine.

“Sorry about that, that was almost bad, are you okay, I should've have been paying more attention.” The driver asked.

“...”

My guard was still holding me, but he didn’t say anything.

“Well, good thing that guy saved you, really that could have been bad, if can offer you a ride as an apology, I hope this is okay with My Lady.”

“...sorry…”

“Don’t worry about it, it was my fault anyway.”

I stepped back and kept my head down, not looking at the man.

“Well, if you are okay, I hope she is okay, I'll be on my way, I need to get My Lady home before dark.”

The wagon started forward and slowly went past me.

“That almost took a year off of my life. I know I shouldn’t be rushing like this, but now is a really bad time for My Lady to be on the streets. Still, I can’t believe this went as well as it did. How is My Lady this strong anyway? I heard rumors, but they said she was frail and timid, when did she change? Was she always like this.”

The man’s voice slowly faded, as the wagon went away. I wondered what he was talking about, who was his lady, so I turned to watch his wagon leave, but I then I froze.

Sitting on the back of the wagon, its feet dangling off the edge, was a small person, almost as small as I was. It was wrapped all in black leather, and there was a large sword on it’s back. A pair of silver eyes were looking at me, staring at me.

But, there were no words, it was silent.

I still heard the driver, I still heard the mess of sounds from my two guards, I could hear the two people in the building to me left, the children in the one to the right, I could hear the people down the street, across this street, upstairs, there was even one woman moving underground within the sewers.

But the person on the back of the wagon, was completely and absolutely silent.

“...hey…” I said as I tugged on my guard’s sleeve.

“Hmm? What is it, Miss?”

“...Cary me, and follow them.” I ordered my guard.